Mental Resilence
January 4, 2019
“Mental resilience is arguably the most critical trait of a world-class performer. It should be nurtured continuously. -Josh Waitzkin“
Resilience is what allows us to keep going in the face of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and difficulty, long after everyone else has quit.
Unfortunately, our current lifestyles set us up to rob us of mental resilience and mental clarity. Many people have lost their edge through the powerful invasion of instant comfort and mislead ideas of what success really is. Most people don’t actually know what their real goals are anymore.
Former editor of SUCCESS Magazine Darren Hardy once wrote:
“Most people drift through life without devoting much conscious energy to figuring out specifically what they want and what they need to do to get themselves there.”
“If you want to live an exceptional and extraordinary life, you have to give up many of the things that are part of a normal one.” -Srinivas Rao
Most people define success by how much better than others they are.
While most people spend all their time and energy trying to be better than the other person, people who succeed are focusing on something entirely different: being better than they were yesterday. For these individuals, nothing else matters. There’s no stress to beat anyone else.
Ernest Hemingway once wrote:
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.”
True satisfaction lies in being better than you were. Personal evolution, reaching higher levels of consciousness, mastery, and doing things you couldn’t do before is what you really want. At the end of the day, who really cares what the competition did? You will be much happier when you achieve your personal goals instead of trying to beat others at theirs.
James Altucher writes:
“Every day, check these 4 boxes – have I improved 1% on:
- physical,
- emotional
- mental, and
- spiritual health?”
All that matters is whether or not you improved, even if today it is only a little bit.
To achieve the success you want in life, you also need clarity and energy. Without clarity, you’ll be exhausted from constantly searching for satisfaction. Your energy will be spent running in circles, eventually getting lost.
When you increase clarity, you increase your energy. Clarity invites enthusiasm, endurance, and passion.
When you have a vision, you will experience renewed vitality and strength that has been missing since your youth. Desires and ambitions that have been dormant, will reawaken.
Anthony Moore writes:
“This short parable proves an important point.
It was the 2016 Summer Olympics. All eyes were on the Michael Phelps and Chad Le Clos in the 200-meter butterfly final.
In 2012, Phelps was the unanimous favorite…until, against all odds, Le Clos beat Phelps at his own signature race. There was an international frenzy. Shaken, Phelps retired. The entire world began to accept Chad Le Clos as the new champion.
But then Phelps came out of retirement, causing another media bonanza — would Phelps choke again? Would he come up short? What about Le Clos, his younger competitor who’d already beaten him? After a practice session, Le Clos arrogantly announced to the press, “I just did a time [Phelps] hasn’t done in four years,” he boasted.
Race day came. The world watched with hushed breath as Phelps and Le Clos swam neck-and-neck towards the finish.
But instead of looking ahead to the finish, Le Clos famously watched Phelps the rest of the home stretch. Phelps never wavered, only looking towards the finish line.
Phelps won. After regaining his throne, the media ambushed him with questions about beating his nemesis. “There are a lot of things I could say. But I won’t,” Phelps only said. “I’m going to let what I do in the pool do my talking.”
You’re going to have a lot of pressure to “beat the competition.” To be buffer than that one guy at the gym, to be prettier than that one co-worker, to be the smartest family member.
When that pressure comes, remember:
Competitors watch the winners. Winners just look forward.”
I direct many of my clients to work of Kamal Sarma
“Just because we are breathing does not mean we know how to live
To feel truly alive, to truly enjoy every breath, we must have a clear and resilient mind
Most people are not taught how to maintain a clear and resilient mind
We dedicate ourselves to acquiring more knowledge yet we do not focus on the mind
Mental resilience is the practice of making sure our mind is strong, clear and focused
We don’t spend enough time looking after our most vital asset, our mind… Mental Resilience Training is the science and art of doing just that
With Mental Resilience we can rest and focus our minds at will so that we can
- Bounce back from the challenges we face
- Make decisions from a position of clarity rather than confusion
- Choose to think empowering thoughts that add value to our lives and the lives of those around us”
You may also enjoy some of the short, guided meditations on this website to help begin your journey to Mental Resilience and Mental Clarity.
We cannot separate Mental, Physical, Emotional or Spiritual Health. At Élan Osteopathic Clinic we will help you identify and achieve your goals – so you can do more of what you love most.